Posts Tagged ‘UAW’

Is Detroit finally “getting” it? While I don’t necessarily agree with the bailout of the auto industry, and I firmly believe the United Auto Workers (UAW) has crippled the Big 3 of Ford, Chrysler and General Motors, I actually see a few American cars driving down the freeway I would be proud to drive.

Growing up in the 1980’s, muscle cars from the late 1960’s and 1970’s were what the cool guys in high school drove. It was the Trans Am, Cutlass, Camaro or the 442 that made guys say ‘WOW” and girls purr “OOOH.” They were real cars that sounded fast and tough, not the whining blender noise of the tricked-out 4-cylinder imports that populate our roads today.

1969 Olds 442 Muscle Car

We are all grown up now and well entrenched in our 30’s and 40’s and mid-life crisis is either hitting or is right around the corner and we want a car that looks cool, sounds cool and that when we drive it, other people think we are cool for driving such a cool car.

New 2010 Chevy Camaro Looks HOT!

Enter the new 2010 Chevy Camaro. It looks like a classic and sounds every bit the part. I actually saw the collective heads of kids turn while leaning on their racing-stickered Honda Civics and Acura Integras as a new Camaro drove in. If the kids think it’s cool…then it’s pretty damn cool.

I’ve yet to drive one yet so I know nothing of the feel, workmanship or the ergonomic design (or lack thereof), but if I can judge a book by its cover, let’s chalk one up for Detroit – the new Camaro looks hot!

Unions had a place in America, once upon a time. Workers were used and abused and tossed aside by unscrupulous employers who had more people to choose from than there were jobs, so the ball was in his court.

Labor laws were enacted so overtime wages must be paid if more than 40-hours in a given week were exceeded, and children were no longer eligible to contract black lung disease next to their fathers in a coal mine.

Then the United Auto Workers took hold of the car industry and killed the golden goose, and other unions drove manual labor overseas by demanding ridiculous wages, benefits and threatening companies with the S-WORD – Strike. Essentially saying, “If we don’t get our way, we will go on strike and do our best to strangle you, the company that feeds our family.”

This is why Nike makes their shoes in Vietnam and my Polo shirt was stitched in Guatemala – they don’t have to deal with your union crap.

Bay Area Nurses Will Go On Strike October 30, 2009

But some things cannot be outsourced. I can’t call Bulgaria for a plumber. Nurses are another perfect example. Hospitals cannot operate without a stable of nurses, and people will die if a hospital has no nurses. But that doesn’t matter to the California Nurse’s Association who has called for a one-day strike on October 30th at two-dozen Bay Area hospitals, including O’Connor in San Jose and Seton Medical Center in Daly City, just outside San Francisco. It appears they are upset their contract negotiations are not going as planned.

According to Catholic Healthcare West, the hospital group that is being held for ransom, the average nurse earns $100-large, plus has health benefits for the nurse AND their family fully paid for. They are striking over a change in their health care package from a PPO to an HMO.

Welcome to the real world, Miss or Mister RN. I have to pay for my family’s coverage. Yes, it’s pre-tax, but it’s still $800 per month, and most people who are not in a hostage-taking union have to deal with this reality. Companies grow and fold; times are good and we have recessions; we have hiring booms and layoffs. Markets change and maybe if nurses didn’t make idle threats, just maybe the hospitals wouldn’t need to find less expensive health care for their nurses. Just a thought.

Oh, and don’t get sick or hurt or have a life-threatening ailment on October 30th if you are in the Bay Area…you might die because a nurse is pissed she has to settle for an HMO.